I don't usually post this sort of thing but this perfectionist's nightmare collection made me laugh.
Saturday, April 30, 2022
Friday, April 29, 2022
The Vanished House
The Vanished House by designer Hu Quanchun of Field Conforming Studio is a memorial installation set in the Wuhan Shimenfeng Memorial Park, a cemetery with a tranquil spatial atmosphere. The piece takes the shape of a house covered in ivy, symbolizing a home that’s fading away.
Into The Deep
Ten minutes of mesmerizing deep-sea animals filmed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
Quilted Signs
San Francisco based artist Jeffrey Sincich uses quilting and found objects to represent the feeling of comfort, tradition and history.
Come for the monster, stay for the whisky and haggis
Comedian Eleanor Morton gives us her impression of a less than enthusiastic Loch Ness tour guide. "Now that everyone is intensely seasick I'd like to invite you back for a whisky and haggis tasting session."
via FB pal Hal
Maidenform
In the early 90s Meryn Cadell had a hit called The Sweater that I liked a lot. I'd never heard this one although I was of course familiar with the popular Maidenform bra campaign that featured glamourous women doing all sorts of things in the signature foundation garment.
via Memo Of The Air
Thursday, April 28, 2022
Flying Penguins
It was World Penguin Day on April 25 and I missed it (insert sad face here). But this wonderful BBC video with the late Terry Jones never grows old.
via FB pal Hal.
Inside Big Ben
3D illustrator Jared Owen provides a detailed look at the insides of London’s Elizabeth Tower aka Big Ben.
Via The Awesomer
Rain Pot
Gordon Moore’s short film Rain Pot (2020) is a meditative look at the ancient art form of pottery.
Via Aeon Videos
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Molten Iron Fireworks
"Without the means to afford traditional fireworks, these blacksmiths devised a new form of entertainment. By tossing molten iron against the walls, they created beautiful showers of sparks, beginning a practice that would soon become a part of their cultural heritage."
Via Kottke
The Two Fat Ladies
This British cooking show starring Clarissa Dickson Wright and Jennifer Paterson was a favourite of mine many, many years ago. The two bon vivants travelled to food destinations on a Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle and had a helluva good time. I'm certain that clotted cream, lard and fatty meats would have featured prominently on their coat-of-arms, if they had one.
How To Jump Rope Like A Pro
Tori Boggs is a professional jump roper. In this video she breaks down how she's helping take the sport to the next level.
Via Memo Of The Air
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Beer Can Photography
Karen Majoka shows the results of her self-made beer can pinhole cameras that she hung outside for a whole year. She also shows how to build one for yourself.
If you liked this video you might want to look at some of my previous pinhole camera posts.
A Feather Star Swimming
Feather stars are an ancient species of marine invertebrate. Some species are mobile when seeking food or escaping predators, but most spend their time perched on surfaces. When they swim they are very graceful.
A Dublin Bookbinder
This video documents the art of Irish bookbinding. One of the comments on the video is from the son of the bookbinder. He has continued on in the family profession at Antiquarian Bookcrafts in Dublin where books are still repaired and restored.
Monday, April 25, 2022
Velocity
Velocity is a short macro film by Vadim Sherbakov. He uses pigments, inks, glitter, alcohol, soaps, and other mixtures to create a colourful journey though uncharted cosmos.
These Scammers Messed With The Wrong Granny
They thought they were going to steal $10,000 from a little old lady but they're about to lose everything due to something crazy in her kitchen!
via FB pal Hal
If Venice's Gondolas Could Fly
Raffo VFX moved gondolas from the canals of Venice into the skies above and it looks kind of cool.
Sunday, April 24, 2022
Why giraffes live longer than ferrets
Researchers have measured the somatic mutation rates of a range of mammals and discovered a striking correlation between mutation rate and lifespan.
Thanks Bruce!
Sunday Links
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| Image Credit: Flickr User Badly Drawn Dad |
You're Never Bored with a Gourd! A west Sussex tradition (image above)
Slip on your nylon plisse brunch coat and stir up a pitcher of Bloody Marys. We're going to have a 1950s Brunch! (via Strange Company)
Bare legs made beautiful: Paint-On Stockings (1941)
Follow the Example of Thousands - Join the Radio Association Via radio guy and friend of this blog Marco McClean who thought radio was a plaything, but now his eyes are opened, and he is making as much as $15 a week!
Infinite Tapestry is a site that generates a new, infinitely-scrolling Chinese landscape tapestry every time you load it (via webcurios )
Rodrigues: The Indian Ocean island time forgot It looks idyllic.
Big Sign Hunter. Like big game hunter, only with vintage signs
Law & Order: CVU (Catnip Victims Unit) via Miss Cellania
This week's house envy: A modernist dream, untouched in over half a century
More than just naan: YouTuber Schmindian demystifies Indian Breads.
If you don't behave I'll send you to The Cry Room
Work From Shed: extraordinary garden offices.
Trump Supporters Explain Why They Believe the Big Lie
The Six Bells is a shop in Brooklyn with a brilliant fabricated history. "It takes its inspiration from a tiny shop located in the fictional village of Barrow’s Green– a small civil parish with 640 residents, depending on who is dying and how many babies are being born." Read the story. (Via webcurios)
A poem: A Piece of the Storm, by Mark Strand
These lovely photochrom travel views show Europe, the Middle East, and Canada as they appeared around 1890-1900.
Are you looking to get away from it all? This island off the coast of Maine with a charming cottage might be just what you're looking for - as long as you don't require plumbing, heat or electricity. (via Miss Cellania)
Why wasn't this a bigger hit? Dirty Old Egg Sucking Dog
Dancing with Mao "He had no rhythm in his being."
“Our ancestors’ bones are still in that swamp right there.”The Hidden and Eternal Spirit of the Great Dismal Swamp
"A mighty maze of mystic magic rays is all about us in the gloom" When television came to London
Saturday, April 23, 2022
You’ve Never Been Completely Honest - a dark chapter in the early days of the self-help industry
This half-animated, half-live-action short documentary by the US director Joey Izzo, recalls a four-day ‘leadership seminar’ in 1970 in Palo Alto, California, for male employees of the the multilevel cosmetics marketing company Holiday Magic Inc.
Why Couldn't Samurai Be Left-Handed?
The bias against the 12 percent of the population who are left-handed has deep historical roots.
via Boing Boing
Handy Mnemonics - A history of the five-fingered memory machine
A millennium of “hand mnemonics” and the techniques practised by Buddhist monks, Latin linguists, and Renaissance musicians for learning language, teaching music, memorizing systems, or calculating time.
Read more: Public Domain Review
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| Drawing on paper from Mogao Caves - Image source |
"No one knows who made the drawing. Likely the work of an eighth-century monk, perhaps a member of an esoteric Buddhist cult traveling the Silk Road, it long sat forgotten in a walled-off library in China’s Mogao Caves. When the library was uncovered in 1900, the drawing — lifted from a trove of religious manuscripts — had aged well. Its subject is timeless: a pair of human hands."
The Prayer
The Prayer is an art-installation that has robot voices singing canonized prayers from various religions. It is currently presented in the show “Neurons, Simulated Intelligence” at Centre Pompidou, Paris.
Thanks Bruce!
Friday, April 22, 2022
Woolen Netflix
I recreated the @netflix intro with $30 worth of yarn pic.twitter.com/dhi6Y5wSTE
— Kevin Parry (@kevinbparry) April 21, 2022
The Tree Of Trees
Thomas Heatherwick's Tree of Trees sculpture will be installed at Buckingham Palace as part of the official celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee which marks 70 years of her reign. The sculpture will contain 350 types of trees found in Britain supported on a tree-like form.
Good Night Simpsons (1987)
"Good Night"is the first of forty-eight Simpsons shorts and the second segment of the third episode of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. It marks the first appearance of the Simpson family — Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie — on television.
Thanks Bruce!
White-Striped Longhorn Beetle Or Member Of Slipknot?
This photo of a Batocera lineolata was taken by Dara Ojo, originally from Nigeria and now living in China, who spotted the insect in Jiaxing, a city outside Shanghai. Its face has been compared to masks worn by heavy metal band Slipknot.
Chateau V
This Biltmore-inspired 17,273 sq ft estate in Colorado sold for $9,500,000. It's so large I'd probably get lost in it. The video is worth watching for the dedicated dogwashing room with its gorgeous puppy tiles. I didn't buy it because I'm looking to downsize *wink
(Thanks Bruce!)
Thursday, April 21, 2022
Reel to Reel Tape Piano
Film and video game composer David Hilowitz found a tape recorder from the 60s in a thrift store and used it to put together a Tape Piano Sample Library.
Perseverance Rover Sees Solar Eclipse on Mars
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its Mastcam-Z camera system to shoot video of Phobos, one of Mars’ two moons, crossing the face of the Sun.
The Photo Ark
National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore has photographed over 5,000 endangered animals for a project he calls the Photo Ark. He wants people to actually see animals and connect with them on a deeper level while there is still time.
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Just An Old Time Woman
An interview with Ruby, an eighty-six year old Appalachian woman from Harlan County, Kentucky, one of the most impoverished areas of the US. She's adorable and sharp as a tack.
Mosaics Hidden Under Croatian Streets
Mosaics dating from the second century CE were hidden under the city streets of Stari Grad, in Croatia. Archaeologists discovered the Roman mosaic floors in February during excavations before the city began construction on sewage and water pipes.
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| image: Vilma Matulić |
Read more: Hyperallergic
Chicago
This animated short film/music video was created for the track "Chicago" by Lance Skiiiwalker. Both video and music are homages to the spirit of Chicago and its people.
The Lady and The Owl
The Lady and the Owl directed by William Canning is about a retired couple living near St. Catharines, Ontario (not far from my home) who devoted their lives to the care and rehabilitation of injured owls.
Kay died in 2019. Larry predeceased her in 2002.
Zoomquilt #2
Warning: Watching 10 hours straight of this might not be good for your health. When you feel your head spinning and your eyes popping out of your head take a break!
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Strandbeests Have Taken To The Air
Special Effects 1947-1980
Czech film director and animator, Karel Zeman, experimented with new techniques and genres. He combined live action, models, puppets and almost every kind of animation imaginable, blending them in imaginative ways to create a world that is uniquely his own.
Shooting Things Through Spinning Fans
How many fans can an arrow go through? The lads at How Ridiculous are about to find out.
Kodak Mosaic Discovered Behind Drywall After Decades
DELTA-X purchased the old Kodak laboratory building in Rochester to establish its U.S. headquarters. While preparing to redesign the entrance of the building a lost mosaic artwork from the 1960s was uncovered.
Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand
"Sit outside and argue all night long
About a God we've never seen, but never fails to side with me
Sunday comes, and all the papers say
Ma Teresa's joined the mob and happy with her full-time job"
Sunday comes, and all the papers say
Ma Teresa's joined the mob and happy with her full-time job"
A few days ago my friend Alan posted this 1996 song by Primitive Radio Gods on his Facebook page and it's been running through my brain ever since. It was pretty terrific (the chorus is a sample from a BB King song) but alas it was their one and only hit. Maybe posting it here will get rid of the earworm.
Monday, April 18, 2022
Kyiv Forever
This tilt-shift video of Kyiv from Little Big World shows the beauty and vibrancy of the city shortly before the Russian invasion.
Risograph Animation
Tokyo-based animator Hiromu Oka made it his mission to invent the most authentically analogue animation technique he could imagine. He created the animation below out of hundreds of little Risograph stills.
Plastic Bags!
The Plastic Bag Store is a public art installation and immersive film experience by Brooklyn-based artist Robin Frohardt that questions our culture of consumption and conveniences in a lighthearted way.
Because a World Designed For All Of Us Is Priceless
This Mastercard commercial has audio description for people who are blind.
The Eye Smoker
French-Canadian Alfred Langevin (1885–1974) could smoke a pipe through his eye. Apparently he could also play a recorder, smoke a cigarette, and even blow up a balloon through his eye.
via Memo Of The Air
Sunday, April 17, 2022
Music From Nancy (1979)
"Music from Nancy" is a performance piece based on the "Nancy"comic strip. It was produced and performed from 1979 to 1983 by Steve Sweet, Steve Cunningham and Jesse Poimboeuf. It is totally weird and a little hard to listen to.
Easter Morning
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| Easter Morning by Caspar David Friedrich ca. 1828 - 1835 (Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid) |
Sunday Links
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| Ellesmere repair yard from a linocut by Eric Gaskell, one of his Canal Prints series. |
Persepolis Reimagined - I enjoyed this immersive site I discovered at Web Curios. If you click on only one of my links today, this should be it.
Beatle v mobster: The inside story of John Lennon’s 1976 court battle with Morris Levy, a mafia-affiliated music mogul.
If I got a pair of these little hands would they make me look more serious?
Making Film Soup (via MeFi)
Did you know that Canadians are among the most prominent writers in the Alternate History genre? I didn't. (via Strange Company)
A collection of miscellaneous Punk Zines
Are there any Doc Martin fans out there? As the show draws to a close his surgery in North Cornwall has come on the market.
Can fungi clean the air of the world's most polluted capital city?
12 Unforgettable Descriptions of Food in Literature Flaubert's description of a dinner party in Sentimental Education sounds totally decadent.
I don't need no stinkin' Garden Hermits. Mr. Nag will do just fine.
A novel way to ruin everyone's Easter: Asparagus Soup In Chocolate Bowls
Little Ukraine: You knew Americans, but it’s almost as if they were the interlopers. The world was Ukrainian.
Thanks to the the National Library of The Netherlands you can now make your own medieval memes (via Perfect for Roquefort Cheese)
It was an Open and Shut case. The hilarious story of how it was solved so quickly.
Even among the genre of desserts known as “desperation pies,” “hard times pie” seems particularly dire. The Depression-era science trick that transformed water into pie
Interesting stats: Airports Council International (ACI World) has published the top 10 busiest airports worldwide for 2021. Eight of the world's top 10 airports for passenger traffic in 2021 were in the U.S., with the other two in China.
Horrifying Surgical Kit Found in 1,000-Year-Old Tomb in Peru. It belonged to a surgeon of the Middle Sican period (900 – 1050 AD). (via Strange Company)
A plastic bag’s 2,000-mile journey shows the messy truth about recycling
Tesco's Plastic Pledge Falls ShortAt last a sport for me! Extreme Sitting (via Miss Cellania)
Did you know that Fauci, the Clintons, and the Obamas are currently interned at Gitmo? The stupidity is killing me.
Bad puns, regrettable costumes, and other joys of collecting kitschy album art Robin Ash’s home overflows with album covers that most people would find ugly, distasteful and often both.
The GrillComb I want a few.
The best afternoon tea venues in London We'll be at The British Museum for the Stonehenge exhibit. I'll try to time it around tea!
Imagine a vulture, a sparrow, a turkey, and a pigeon all decide to hang out on the same power line. Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson, and Jeff Bezos Go on Double Date
Radical fashion changes over the past couple of centuries: Short Hair for Men and Pink Clothes for Women (and more)
Saturday, April 16, 2022
It Costs That Much
An anthem for creatives who are asked to work for free. Because exposure doesn't pay the bills. (Language Warning)
World Of Wine
Puzzle your way through the world of wine with wine jigsaw puzzles, featuring wine regions, key appelations, grape profiles and more. Add a good bottle of wine and this would make a perfect gift for the wine aficionado in your life.
(And there is one for those who prefer whisky)
Available at Water and Wines
*No, this is not an ad. I just thought it was cool.
Hidden Train End Table
This 'Close Encounters' End Table by designer Peter Waldraff has A UFO Top that lifts to reveal a micro-train underneath. He has recreated the scene from Steven Spielberg's 1977 film where Richard Dreyfuss was sitting at the train crossing with the Mothership above.
Friday, April 15, 2022
The Bunny Hop From The Ray Anthony Show (1953)
Hippity hoppity Easter's on its way.
Via Vintage Everyday
Storm
"Do you know what they call alternative medicine that's been proved to work? Medicine." Australian comedian Tim Minchin's rant in beat poetry form about the crazy stuff people believe was inspired by an encounter with a homeopathy fan at a party. In 2008 it became an anthem for critical thinking. The animated version is a little masterpiece.
"Psycho" For 8 Cellos
Cellist Samara Ginsberg's 8-part take on Bernard Herrmann’s Prelude from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho
via The Awesomer
Thursday, April 14, 2022
Feeling crafty?
It's a busy weekend and you forgot to dye the Easter eggs? No worries, the kids will love these.
Happy Birthday Fatou!
Fatou, the world's oldest living western lowland gorilla, celebrated her 65th birthday yesterday with a fruit and vegetable cake at the Berlin Zoo.
A Busy Day in the Port of Amsterdam
This time lapse video of the Port Of Amsterdam was taken at the 2015 SAIL maritime festival.
Little Miss Dynamite 1958
Brenda Lee, "Little Miss Dynamite," performing at Nashville's Centennial Park on June 8, 1958. View full size image.
The Hurrian Hymn
Written around 1400 BC the Hurrian Hymn is the earliest written song that can be reconstructed.
TV Station Switches From Black and White to Color for First Time
On this day in 1967 newsman Bob Bruner introduced viewers to Iowa’s Channel 2 switch-over to color.
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Wednesday, April 13, 2022
Mira Calix (1969 - 2022)
“She pushed the boundaries between electronic music, classical musicand art in a truly unique way”
Mira Calix, composer, producer and visual artist, died on March 25 at her home and music and art studio in Bedford, England. She was 52.
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Image Of The Day
Nearly two-thirds of Ukraine’s children have fled their homes in the six weeks since Russia’s invasion. - Link
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| A Ukrainian child looks through a bus window in the border city of Przemyśl, Poland, on March 9. Photo: Daniel Cole/AP |
Making a Mechanical Whale
The whale and the waves are made of basswood, the frame is walnut and the base is acacia. He is named Wooden Migaloo after the albino humpback whale often seen on the coasts of Australia. Migaloo is an Aboriginal word meaning "white boy".
The Unlikely Band Of Mothers Who Sparked Today's Environmental Movement
"Secrets, long kept in Niagara Falls, began bubbling to the surface on the east side of town, seeping into people’s homes, newspaper stories, national headlines, and finally the American consciousness at large." - Paradise Falls
The Love Canal is just across the river, less than an hour from where I live. It became the symbol of the dangers of toxic waste in residential neighborhoods. In the late 1970s my friends Margherita Howe and Laura Dodson formed a community action group here in Niagara-on-the-Lake named Operation Clean and joined their American neighbours to combat the dumping of chemical waste into the Niagara River. Margherita was awarded the Order Of Canada for her efforts.
I will definitely read Paradise Falls, a new book by Keith O’Brien that tells the story of how the toxic waters of Niagara Falls poisoned a community.
Photographing Iceland's Cultural Icon
Donal Boyd creates breathtaking portraits of the symbol of culture and heritage in Iceland: the Icelandic Horse.
Parallel Man - A Sci Fi Short
A rogue agent from a totalitarian regime has stolen a top secret assault vehicle and plunged into the multiverse to prevent our Earth from being enslaved.
Carl
Carl regrets dropping out of high school. At the age of fifty-three he's going back to get his high school diploma.
Monday, April 11, 2022
Pixar Remix: Monsters, Inc.
Cute little film in classic silent film style. (Presented in Scare-O-Scope)
Thanks Bruce!
Searching for Harvey
Escalade
This film by Birdo Studio shows what happens when one-upmanship escalates out of control.
Sunday, April 10, 2022
Sunday Links
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| Glass (1969) Isabel Quintanilla, (Spanish, 1938-2017), pencil on paper - Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Madrid |
Where are you? Explordle is addictive. (via Perfect for Roquefort Cheese)
The World of Facebook Recipe Groups Join for the recipes, stay for the drama.
This is mindblowing: When Renee Elise Goldsberry fangirled at the interpreter.
Colo River Crosings is a 2300sqft shipping container house with a plunge pool set atop a steep slope above the Colo River near Sydney, Australia. (via If It's Hip It's Here)
The 10 Liquor Bottles Bartenders Hate the Most (Thanks Bruce!)
Before audio playlists, before cassette tapes and even before records, there were wax cylinders: Digitizing audio that's been unheard for about 100 years
I was tremendously moved by this story: An imprisoned artist, the couple who saved his life, and the extraordinary gift he gave in return. Read The Caregivers
Warning: comes with an annoying earworm! An oral history of the song "Barbie Girl"
Julia Child & Taste An art narrative by Cynthia Korzekwa
Insane timelapse of an icebreaker on the Rivière Matane in Quebec (via everlasting blort)
There are two types of cats: Shrimp for Breakfast
I want a Copper Cataplana. Long ago a Portuguese friend made pork and clams for me in one of these and it is one of the best meals I ever had.
This is me every single night: You're not even watching the film.
Ten Reasons Why You Should NEVER Live On A Narrowboat! (via FB pal Hal)
The Kazam! Machine: How the Eameses molded plywood in the 1940s.
The Beatle Who Got Away Without Stuart Sutcliffe the Beatles story might have been very different.
An ode to the bowel: In 1949 English physician Zachary Cope published The Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen in Rhyme
Prado's new exhibition will allow visitors to inhale fragrances of 10 items seen in The Sense of Smell.
One for the WTF file: Old Man Illegally Got 90 Covid Vaccinations For Money Thanks Hal
In case you were wondering: here's how to install your giant Andy Warhol head sculpture (via everlasting blort)
Got some time to kill? Great parody: He would murder his passenger and escape with a fortune. Planning to blame their deaths on a mythical sea monster, no one is more surprised than Renzo, when the real monster appears with its own agenda. Creature from the Haunted Sea (full film)
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